Tourists

Tourists, 6x6"oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/11/2017

#11 of 30/30, past the one-third mark for a painting a day.  These are small, all 6x6" that I had started last month.  Not cheating, an experiment to let the image rest and age before finishing.  Often these small paintings are finished on the spot, this time approached it differently.  Experimentation is the name of the game here.  And meanwhile... also working on large, studio paintings which take weeks and months.  Phew!  Too much fun!

This painting of tourists is from a snapshot taken on an unusually cool Floridian day.  Wanted to show movement and impression of the strollers rather than a detailed study, afterall, I couldn't ask them to hold still and pose.  

Experimented with flat, silhouetted shapes using limited, muted colors and minimal brushstokes. Another backlit scene forcing the water to look brighter because the figures are darker.

Here's the first layer, or underpainting.  (I always tell my students..."It's only an underpainting until you decide it's finished. There can be layers and layers of underpaintings, so have no fear.  Push that paint around!"  Even John Singer Sargent worked with layers, saving the gorgeous, bravado brushwork for last that made it look so easy.

Sally Painting

Sally Painting, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/10/2017

#10 of 30/30.  Painted with the Peace River Painters at Artists Acres in Englewood yesterday.  Was in the low 30's!  Great chance to capture folks bundled up while working.  It was so cold I thought no one would show up but the place was filled with happy painters!

This is Sally Smith Yoder working in watercolors.  She recently moved out of the area and was visiting for the day.  Miss her a lot and so glad to have had a chance to see her.

I only had a few minutes to paint, at least I got a start on the spot.  (Family emergency called me away but that turned out fine.)  Was able to finish this painting later from iPhone reference photo.

Burnt sienna sketch was all I got done on location... started background later.

There were orchids blooming from tree trunks!  The pink one in front of Sally glowed in the morning sun.  It's roots had grown into the grooves of the tree bark.  And reference shot of Sally with orchid.

Artists Acres is private property.... thank you Mary Tracy for letting our group paint on the grounds.

Fishing for the Birds

Fishing for the Birds, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/9/2017

#9 of 30/30.  Fisherman near the rocks on Caspersen Beach early in the morning.  Birds often hang out near folks fishing who toss them bits of bait, easier than catching their own food.

"Catch anything?" I asked.

"Not yet," he answered.  "And I don't care if I do… gets me out here."

"Beautiful way to start the day!" I said.

Roughed in background.  Painted from photo reference, combining several shots.

Ended up making fisherman much larger, he seemed smaller than the heron here, compressed the perspective and brought him up closer.

Beach Readers

Beach Readers, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/8/2017

#8 of 30/30.

Reference definitely not taken today!  38 degrees down here in sunny south Florida.  This couple would have been bundled in sweatshirts with hoodies up.  

I liked how one reader had an old fashioned book and the other, an e-reader.  Scene took place on Manasota Key Beach a few months ago.

Underpainting with transparent red iron oxide.

Johan and Duke

Johan and Duke, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/7/2017

#7 of 30/30.  Painted with Johan and Duke at the Fishery in Placida on a Monday morning before the shops opened.  I opened the umbrella for dramatic effect.

 Painted this plein air except for having Johan and Duke pose for reference and added them later.  Don't even have an earlier version, just one of those times when I was too busy painting to stop and take progression shots.

Shortly after sitting for the reference photo, Duke managed to roll in something deathly ripe and stinky.  Typical lab!  

Happy with the loose brushwork and quality of light.  After a couple hundred paintings, one will turn out just right.  My favorite painting of this 30/30!

Backlit Girl

Backlit Girl, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/6/2017

Part of the reason I enjoy doing the 30 Paintings in 30 days challenge is the chance to experiment and push style and technique.  This little head study caused me lots of grief, thought I'd post it before giving up.  It went through many rub-outs and scrapings!

Wanted to paint a backlit effect.  Girl kept becoming different characters, from about age 6 to 20.  My original photo reference was terribly distorted, the model was 17 and looked nothing like this.  So put it aside and made the whole thing up from imagination.  Not easy and I'm not thrilled with.  

Here's one of many early versions.  Wish I had photographed each one!  

Didn't like how the head was too close to the top.  Thought bringing down some glowing light and blurring form would help.  Felt the face was too stiff and mouth was wrong.  

Love Sargent's quote: "A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth."

Just found this wipeout!

Eileen Painting

Eileen Painting, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/5/2017

#5 of 30/30 paintings.  One of my best artist buddies painting at Caspersen Beach early in the morning when the light is most dramatic.

And this is how it looked at an earlier stage.  There are spots, like the hat, I should have left alone!

Jane Painting

Jane Painting, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/4/2017

#4 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days.  Jane painting at the Fisherman's Village Marina, Punta Gorda, Florida.  Extremely talented friend!  

Had a lot of problems with this one, changed the foreground arm and made the hat red instead of tan.  Simplified the background and added more sailboat masts.  Sometimes, it's more difficult to paint in a looser style than tightly rendered.  Wanted to suggest movement of the artist on a breezy day. Fortunately, my daughter pointed out faults which I happily corrected, it's useful having another pair of eyes.

Underpainted with thin burnt sienna.  Jane's arm was bent and rested on her easel but looked awkward or stubby.  Enlarged the canvas she was painting on and extended the arm.

Gail and Gerda

Gail and Gerda, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

1/3/17

#3 of 30/30.  Gail and Gerda painting with watercolors at Manasota Key Beach.  Started this sketch on location and left it unfinished on purpose.  One of my goals for this 30/30 is to leave sketches unfinished and touch up later, not over-rendering.  Usually, I try to finish on the spot, so this is a different method for me.  It takes a lot of pressure off painting plein air not to worry about creating a finished product.

These small sketches are like practicing a musical instrument, a musician would never go on stage without hours of rehearsal.  It's the same with painting, these are rehearsals for larger studio paintings.

Underpainting done on location and left unfinished.

One Cool Kid

One Cool Kid, 6x6" oil,  ©Diane Mannion

#2 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Loved how the light played on the sandy beach and how hot color looked in cool shade.  Although it's a snapshot taken of my granddaughter, I didn't want to paint a portrait... made her hair darker for dramatic effect and left out the wild and colorful polka dots on her swim shirt.  Simply borrowed the figure and the situation.

 Lost over 7500 reference photos after my computer was hacked a few years ago, another reason I feel compelled to work with snapshots that keep calling to me.  Not that I copy them, I change a lot, exploring the range of visual possibilities.

Painting at block-in stage.  Adding the blue blanket helped!

Swimmer

Swimmer, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

HAPPY 2017!

First painting of the year for the start of another 30 Paintings in 30 Days.  Theme is figurative.  Exploring ideas for future, larger paintings.  Self-portrait, wanted new FB image.

Keeping them all 6x6" and have worked many to the half way point already, not cheating... just an exercise to make myself stop before finishing in one go.  Giving these sketches time to ripen before finishing, and yes, I have 30 unfinished ones ready to FINISH!  

How it looked at the half-way point.

Leaving's Sweet Sorrow

Leaving's Sweet Sorrow, 15x17"oil/linen, ©Diane Mannion

Leaving

(Or when is it time to leave a painting and move on?)

"Parting is such sweet sorrow…"- Shakespeare

Sometimes a title will come while painting, heard Shakespeare's words from Romeo and Juliet, and melded them with the woman leaving.  The title was much easier to create than the painting!

Did a small study last summer and wanted to see if it could work in a larger size, also had a nice scrap of portrait linen, million bucks an inch, not to waste!   Stapled it to a board, set up my study and went to work.  Easy… I thought.

July Leaving, study, 6x8" oil

First sketch on linen with charcoal, then thin paint, which also showed composition "movement," sort of a zig-zag.

Study set up next to linen scrap stapled to board.

First block-in

Got it to this point and decided I didn't like it.  Sigh.  Those umbrellas were giving me a headache!

Blocked in new masses for background.  Pushed darks and lights.

Final painting after changes.  And finally… I like it.

Many of my paintings are available at the Hughes Gallery, Boca Grande, FL!!!

Harbor Secrets

Harbor Secrets, 20x24"oil, ©Diane Mannion

Studio Painting Progression

With over a thousand plein air paintings done on location since 2008, I've got plenty of reference material and visual memory to work from while doing studio work.  This painting used several of these influences.  While painting outside alla prima, or wet into wet and completing a study in a few hours, studio paintings can take weeks or months to complete.  

Many years ago, I snapped photos of waders in Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda who were looking at  bottom-dwelling marine life during a guided tour in Ponce de Leon Park.  Armed with nets and buckets, both children and adults delighted in their discoveries of tiny fish, crabs, and other assorted mysterious creatures.  

There was something compelling about one photo of a father and daughter that I kept looking back at.  I used their position and stance but changed the background and foreground.  Painted the same environment in the harbor like a stage set and isolated them from the group of about fifteen others.

As usual, when I use random photos for reference, I change the appearance of the characters to protect their identities. 

A. First sketch was painted on an 14x11" canvas panel.  When I have left-over paint on my palette, I smear it on panels to improve the surface and to give it interesting color and texture.  Wanted to give the characters more "space," so redrew them on a larger canvas. 

B. Figures redrawn same size but with more "breathing room" and also to better illustrate the harbor setting.  Used burnt sienna and ultramarine blue thinned with Gamsol.  Painted sky with added white, red, and yellow.  

C. Blocked in background and foreground.  Let colors remain "darker" than they should be so lights will show up later.  And as my talented artist friend, Christa said recently: "To get light, you've got to have dark!"

 D. Worked on figures.

E. Added details.  Defined water patterns, added sparkles.  Saved leaves on foreground mangrove tree for last.

* These easel shots appear darker than the final painting because they were shot inside with iPhone.  The final painting above was photographed outside with my trusty old Nikon, so the values are closer.

Many of my paintings are available through the Hughes Gallery, Boca Grande, Florida.

Pot Nap

Pot Nap, 8x10" oil, plein air, ©Diane Mannion

Forgot My Brushes!

Drove about an hour to the Pottery Express in Punta Gorda to paint with the Peace River Painters last Monday.  This leaning pot caught my eye, especially the shadow pattern on the ground.  

Set up easel with palette pre-loaded and ready to go... then realized I had forgotten to pack my brushes.  Oh, the horror!  Nearby artist, Jeanette, loaned me two brushes, Robert Simmons natural bristol, a type I'm fond of.  Used one scruffy brush for the entire painting, saving Jeanette the trouble of cleaning two brushes.  

My brush cleaning method is first with paper towels and OMS (usually Gamsol) then rubbing the brushes in half a tennis ball with Murphy's Oil Soap and water until water runs clean.  Then pinch water out and let dry on sides (to prevent wood rotting in handle).  My brushes seem to last for years this way.

I've heard stories of artists forgetting brushes and resorting to sticks, twigs, and fingers!  Thank you, Jeanette for saving me that experience.  Another artist forgot her easel that morning but lived close enough to go back and get it.  These things happen, but painting outside's worth the trouble.

Crista, Susan, Sharon, Jeanette, (Wendi with tail in far background), and me!

A lot more artists were scattered all around the area, too.

Great morning!

MNEME

Wendi Painting, oil sketch, 10x8" plein air, ©Diane Mannion

MNEME

(Pronounced NEMMA rhymes with Emma)

Last year… the first time I met Wendi, I didn’t know I was painting next to one of those rare angels!  

Painting at the Punta Gorda Environmental Park with the Peace River Painters, I included Wendi in my plein air oil sketch (above)  and decided to give it to her later after I photographed it and let it dry.  Drove around with it all season and never bumped into her again. 

I usually have a good reason to gift a painting, but this time I thought it was just because it was a sketch of Wendi and she was happy I didn’t make her butt look big!  Little did I know that she really deserved my painting!  Finally found her this season and learned that  Wendi C Smith is a certified Mneme Therapist. 

So what’s Mneme?  The mneme therapy, named after the Greek mother of the muse (inspiration fairy that buzzes around artist’s heads), is also related to memory, as in mnemonic device (hooks to help remember things). 

In Wendi’s words:

“I work with elders with Alzheimer’s and Dementia as well as folks who have had strokes or accidents and children on the Autism spectrum.  I give my clients/artists a choice of 10 Mneme Therapy paintings from my “Inspiration Book.”

Wendi used one of my paintings in her “Inspiration Book” because it evokes JOY!  (I was pleased to hear this!)  Here’s a story of how it worked with one woman in Wendi’s words:

“My client, Pat is 65 years old and resides at Life Care Center of Punta Gorda.  Pat broke her back a number of years ago but it has not broken her spirit.  When I arrive with my painting supplies she is the first to ask if she could paint today. 

Every stroke in the painting is set up to stimulate different areas of the brain to hopefully cause a synapse and build new pathways in the brain.  So Pat chose your sample painting (my version of your painting after changing brush strokes to include strokes needed in all MT paintings). 

It took Pat 30 minutes to complete.  It was framed and hung at our Art Without Boundaries Exhibit last March at the Visual Art Center.  Pat was extremely proud!  She still shows it off to visitors at Life Care.”

Pat and her painting

My painting that inspired Pat's

My hug from Wendi after giving her the sketch

Wendi and me

More Mneme info:

wendicsmithart.com

artwithoutboundaries.net

Thanks to Sharon Yarbrough and Susan Hoffman for the photos!

Blue Crab Shack

Blue Crab Shack, 8x10" oil, ©Diane Mannion

Bad Dog!

It's been a while since I've been outside painting, didn't know how much I missed it until this morning.  Painted with the Peace River Painters group and spent half the time walking around chatting with folks I hadn't seen since last season.  

About twenty to thirty artists were scattered all around the area.  Was disappointed that it was cloudy at the Placida Fishery, but at least the colors and values stayed the same all morning.

 Caroline Jasper set up in front of the crab shack and kayak rental place with a yellow Corvette inside.  I liked the way her figure gave the scene a sense of scale.  Vultures sat on the roof either waiting for crab scraps or for one of us to drop.   

Cats roamed everywhere so I painted one in and while I was painting it… a cat walked right into that exact spot!  And one lucky cat had a narrow escape when chased by Duke, the black lab.

 My friend and neighbor,  Johan Bjurman painted across a field with his freshly adopted black lab, Duke.  He and his wife went to the Humane Society to adopt a cat and came home with an eighty pound lab instead!

I brought my standard poodle, Shadow along and they were politely introduced.  Gave Duke another bag of homemade dog cookies.  Shadow enjoys sleeping on the back seat while I paint out of the back under the open hatch of my Honda.

So… Duke (after the cat chase) was tied to a large rock which he could pull around a bit.  When it was time to take our paintings to the show-and-tell area, Duke ran across the field dragging the rock.  His leash tangled around my legs while I was holding my easel with painting in one hand and Shadow on her leash in the other.

Someone grabbed Duke while I picked my painting up which had landed face down on the sandy road!  URGH!  Well, gives it some character and a story to tell.  When the paint dries, I'll brush off more sand, most of it's on the right.  Oh, the adventure and excitement of plein air painting!

Bad dog!  No more cookies for you, Duke!

My view

Before I brushed some sand off

Love this photo Susan E Hoffman took of me and my Shadow
and Johan Bjurman and Duke!

Summer Reading

SUMMER READING, oil, 20x20" ©Diane Mannion

Revised Revision

Once called Her Beach, this painting has gone through so many revisions that it deserves a new post.  

And this is it!  Although I've said that before…  This IS it.  Yes, I'm happy with it now.

And there were many more revisions!